Friday, June 11, 2010

May Reads

Here's what I read in May. For some reason, I'm sure that I'm missing at least one or two books, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. A couple books came close, but I had no 5-star reads this month. It looks like I read 24 books in May, which brings my total for the year up to 117. Where I wrote a review, I've linked to it so you can have more information.

A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch My Goodreads rating: 4Truly, nobody writes wounded heroes like Suzanne Enoch. Although Tolly recovers far more easily than does Bit (from England's Perfect Hero), she gives him the same wounded soul. Both Tolly and Tess are wonderful characters. All the secondary characters are well drawn, too, and support the main couple perfectly.

A Proper Seduction by HelenKay DimonMy Goodreads rating: 3This novella had potential, but unfortunately I never felt the connection between Lauren and Justin. We never saw enough of Lauren's thoughts to understand her transitions. It explored some heavy subject matter, but the page count was too short for me to believe that there was a HEA for this couple. Justin basically admitted to raping Lauren, and they didn't have enough time to work fully through it. I did like that Dimon doesn't promise the HEA, only the possibility that it will work out.

Dear Maggie by Brenda NovakMy Goodreads rating: 4A pretty good read from Novak. First released in 2001. There were inconsistencies in the characters' behavior sometimes, and you can definitely see Novak's growth as an author since. But I enjoyed it despite its shortcomings.

Do You Take This Cop? by Beth AndrewsMy Goodreads rating: 3Heroine on the run story. I didn’t care for the heroine for a good deal of the book – she was so secretive. It’s one thing to hide your true identity, but she was secretive and tight with her emotions and her interactions as well. And I hate how she expected her son to be perfect. One of the reasons I love the HSR line is that it never shies away from the tough stuff, even when that stuff makes the characters unlikable and do unlikable things. There were still plenty of good things to like about this book, though, like Andrews' voice, the premise, and Nick. And it was brave of Andrews to make Faith so unlikable in the beginning. Things I didn't like so much, like Faith, and the ending.

Fixed Up with Mr. Right? (Matchmaking Mamas, #2) (Silhouette Special Edition, #2041) by Marie FerrarellaMy Goodreads rating: 33.5 stars. Kind of a meh read. The 2nd in a series of matchmaking mamas. I have always liked Ferrarella, and there was nothing wrong with this one, it just didn’t wow me.

Heated Rush by Leslie KellyMy Goodreads rating: 4I liked this one a lot. Sean and Annie were both very likeable. And I liked how Annie's family was incorporated into the story as well. And can I just say? Who wouldn't want to have sex on a Ferrari? Oh, this is a two-parter with Slow Hands, the Harlequin freebie.

Hidden Desires by Elle KennedyMy Goodreads rating: 4A different type of book from Kennedy than I've come to expect. No alpha military-type hero. A wonderful story of learning to love and coming to terms with your past. As much as I love her uber-alphas, I loved this even more. She's becoming an autobuy for me for her fantastic heroes and her love stories.

In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady by Gayle CallenMy Goodreads rating: 4A really good read from Callen. I really, really liked the hero and heroine. A nice roadtrip book, too.

Kissing Cowboy (Men of S.W.A.T., #3) by J.C. WilderMy Goodreads rating: 3I liked the premise, but it fell a little flat for me. It seemed like the heroine folded and abandoned her principles if the hero even looked sideways at her. Her family seemed over the top nasty, and I didn't understand why she seemed to be living at home if that was the case.

Lady of Scandal by Tina GabrielleMy Goodreads rating: 2This story of revenge had the potential to be good, but too many implausible happenings kept it from working. How can a young girl, involved in society disappear and no one is the wiser? How can someone with Victoria's intelligence be so dumb? And the villains were so over the top as to be completely caracaturish. A big disappointment.

Lee: Devils on Horseback by Beth WilliamsonMy Goodreads rating: 4For some reason, I didn't connect as much with Lee's angst as I did with the other Devils. At least, not his childhood angst. Once the relationship was established between Genny and Lee, I was able to settle into the book and enjoy it more. I’m a huge whore for Williamson’s historicals.

Line of Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #4) by Jo DavisMy Goodreads rating: 4.5OMG. This was a really good one. Likeable hero and heroine, good story, and good lovin.

Match Made in Court by Janice Kay JohnsonMy Goodreads rating: 4Another winner from Johnson. Again, the HSR line never shies away from the hard stuff. Aunt and uncle are in a battle to determine custody of their shared niece. Quite good.

McKettricks of Texas: Garrett (McKettricks, #12) by Linda Lael MillerMy Goodreads rating: 4Another winner from LLM. While I wouldn't say that the book was perfect, there was a whole lot to enjoy.

No Longer Mine by Shiloh WalkerMy Goodreads rating: 4It’s Walker, what else is there to say? It’s emotional, heartwrenching, and tragic. Yet uplifting and satisfying, too.

Portrait in Death (In Death, #16) by J.D. RobbMy Goodreads rating: 4.5While I found the mystery a little lackluster, it was the smallest focus of the book. Roarke learns a lot about his history, and much of the first 2/3 of the book is focused on this, and on his feelings about it. We get to see Trueheart getting more time with the team, and the relationship of Eve & Peabody grows more, as they start to become almost equals, if not completely in the workforce, then certainly on a personal level. I do need to write a full review of this one, since I highlighted so many parts as I was reading it.

Release by Beth KeryMy Goodreads rating: 4For the most part, I enjoyed it. Lots of emotion-charged scenes, the characters are honest with each other and (for the most part) talk things out so they don't come to a head. Not as raw as Wicked Burn or as engrossing as Daring Time, but a satisfying and good read nonetheless.

Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, #5) by Cindy GerardMy Goodreads rating: 4This was good but definitely not the best of the series. There were a lot of places that I wanted to scream "info dump!!!" and I knew the ending early on. While it usually doesn't bother me, I was unhappy with that aspect of the story on Wyatt's behalf. The suspense was well done though, and it was great to see the other BOIs. Especially Nate and Juliana.

Sweet Temptation by Becca DaleMy Goodreads rating: 4Nice "love at first sight" novella that every girl can likely relate to. You get the idea that there could be a HEA for this couple in the future. What kept it from bein a 5-star read was the meanness of Darcy's family. I'm hopeful that most families aren't so cruel. It seemed a little over the top to me.

Ten Things I Love About You (Bevelstoke, #3) by Julia QuinnMy Goodreads rating: 4Cute book. I loved Seb and how he chose to handle his issues. He always tried to look on the bright side, even when someone else might not have done so. Annabel tried to be a good daughter, knowing she needed to marry for money, and Newbury was the only one offering. I liked that Quinn avoided the Big Misunderstanding for the most part, in that Seb realized fairly quickly that Annabel wasn't trying to keep secrets from him; she just didn't know how best to proceed. In fact, I wondered why he didn't just tell her he was wealthy enough to manage her family's needs when she told him of their problems and why she had to marry Newbury. This had a lot of laughter in it. I had a serious LOL moment when Newbury lay on the floor, presumably dead, and Lady Vickers' response was, "Damn, he's fat." Lots of smile moments in this one. Well done by JQ.

Texas Trouble by Kathleen O'BrienMy Goodreads rating: 3Pretty forgettable read. Not bad, but not great either.

The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant by Heidi RiceMy Goodreads rating: 4I enjoyed this HP far more than I expected to. The hero isn't some jerk (although, yes, he's rich as sin). The heroine isn't a virgin, and has her own issues to deal with as well. I thought it was very well done, from a line I don't usually enjoy much anymore.

Without Mercy by Lisa JacksonMy Goodreads rating: 33.5 stars. This isn't Jackson's best work - it was far more predictable than her other books. But I still enjoyed it anyhow.

I really need to read that JKJ title. I've had it on my Sony Reader for MONTHS now.

Beth Andrews was my big discovery in the HSR line last year. You're spot on, there's just something about her voice that clicks for me. Still have this one on my Sony Reader TBR pile though :( I'm really behind on my Harlequin reading!